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This is no normal Tour de France. We didn’t have a bunch of flat stages to get things started; instead we had a couple of hard, hilly days in the Basque Country. The overall contenders haven’t been waiting until the third week to make their moves; they’ve been attacking each other since the very first stage. And we’ve already seen the two big favourites get the better of each other at different times.
On Wednesday and Thursday, stages 5 and 6, the riders took to the winding roads of the Pyrenees for the first proper mountain stages of the race. And across those two days we saw a whole heap of action.
On stage 5, we saw GC contender Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) infiltrate the breakaway, win the stage, and move into the overall lead. That same day, two-time Tour champ Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) lost over a minute to his arch-rival, Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma).
The following stage, Jumbo-Visma were on the move, forcing Hindley out of the maillot jaune and setting up another battle between Vingegaard and Pogačar on the day’s final climb. In a reversal of fortunes, Pogačar dropped Vingegaard, but the latter did enough to take the overall lead.
With the amount of action that’s happened already, it’s hard to believe the race is only six stages old. With 15(!) stages still to go, the race is intriguingly poised. The three riders most expected to reach the final podium – Vingegaard, Pogačar, and Hindley – are already there. But so much can still happen before Paris.
In the meantime, let’s look back on two dramatic days in the Pyrenees, courtesy of photographers Kristof Ramon and Ashley & Jered Gruber.
The defending champs survey their kingdom before the start of stage 5.Meanwhile, Biniam Girmay was enjoying a popcorn shower and some cake.Indeed. What a race it’s been so far.If you’re trying to get your head around this remarkable shot from the Grubers …… this might help a little.The calm before the storm, where the storm is a bunch of tough climbs in the Pyrenees.Jack Haig (left) battles his way up the Col de Soudet, the first HC climb of the 2023 Tour.We’re sure to see Colombian champ Esteban Chaves up the road in the mountains later in the race.Victor Campenaerts was feeling the pinch on the Col du Soudet.Likewise Nils Politt, but he’d at least have plenty to celebrate later in the day.After getting into the big early breakaway, Jai Hindley went it alone with 20 km to go.Back in the main field, defending champ Jonas Vingegaard was forced to chase so as to not to give Hindley too much time.Pogačar couldn’t handle Vingegaard’s pace and shipped over a minute to his Danish rival by stage’s end.Felix Großschartner was having fun with the crowd after his work for the day was done.A stage win for Hindley on the first mountain day of his first Tour.Vingegaard finished fifth on the day, 34 seconds behind Hindley.Impressive crowds at the finish in Laruns.Stars, stripes, and a sweaty, seeping, skin-scrape.Faces of the grupetto.And the face of a bloke who just rode his way into the Tour de France lead. It’s going to be very strange the day Pogačar is no longer eligible for the best young rider classification. Just a pair of West Australian mates at the Tour: Jai Hindley (left), race leader; and race snapper, Zac Williams (right).The next day, stage 6, took the riders up one of cycling’s most legendary climbs: the Col du Tourmalet. These three were waiting to greet the riders on the way up.In the breakaway, at the top of the Tourmalet, Tobias Johannessen and Ruben Guerreiro rubbed shoulders in the sprint for maximum KOM points. Johannessen took line honours and ended up third on the stage. Guerreiro was fourth on the stage. Wout van Aert got in the breakaway, as he is wont to do, to ensure he could be up the road to help Vingegaard in the finale.There he goes, down the Tourmalet, gel in mouth.After a big effort from Jumbo-Visma to offload Jai Hindley on the Tourmalet, Vingegaard and Pogačar crested the climb together …… and headed down the other side, en route to the stage-ending climb to Cauterets-Cambasque.Dropped by the two big favourites, Hindley paced himself in the group behind.Up and over for the main field.Hindley would only spend the one day in yellow, but he throughly enjoyed it.Felix Gall started the day in the KOM jersey but was deposed by previous leader Neilson Powless along the way.Kasper Asgreen took a moment out of his busy day to check the headlines and catch up on the latest from the stock market.Fabio Jakobsen, bearing the signs of his nasty crash on stage 4, was the last rider over the Tourmalet and one of the last across the finish line at day’s end. He finished comfortably inside the time cut, though, and should have a shot at a win on stage 7, which should end in a sprint.Mathieu van der Poel has done a great job as a lead-out man this Tour. Will he get his own chance to sprint soon, maybe on the uphill drag to the line in Limoges on stage 8?After losing time on stage 5, Pogačar bounced back on stage 6 to take the stage win – his 10th at the Tour – and move back into second overall …… just 25 seconds behind new leader Vingegaard.Hindley’s brief stint in yellow is over, but he still has his sights firmly on the podium in Paris, and fair enough.Just some more reflection-based trickery from the Grubers here.After a brief stint in regular team kit, Powless is back in polka dots.And Pogačar maintains his strangle hold on the white jersey.Vingegaard is now in yellow with 15 stages to go. Can he win the Tour for the second year running?
